


Beneath the Pale Moonlight

by yetanotherramblingfangirl



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Banter, Confessions, F/F, Five Times, Hackle Summer Trope Challenge, fair warning - it's cheesy, just embrace the cheese because it will be fine, last day of term [if you squint at one specific part]
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:49:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25790875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yetanotherramblingfangirl/pseuds/yetanotherramblingfangirl
Summary: Ada wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow they always ended up on this bench.  It was almost as if it were the center of their own very small and specific universe.Five conversations on a bench in the moonlight.
Relationships: Ada Cackle/Hecate Hardbroom
Comments: 18
Kudos: 38
Collections: The Hackle Summer Trope Challenge





	Beneath the Pale Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> Un-beta'ed, so please excuse any mistakes. Just let me know if there's anything egregious that I didn't catch.

**I.**  
Ada was fairly convinced that she was never going to be able to fall asleep again. Several hours of tossing and turning, relaxation spells, and calming draughts had done little to quiet her mind. Flopping her arms down against the counterpane, she let out a strangled sigh. It was being back in this castle that made it difficult to sleep. Knowing in the abstract that she would one day return had done little to prepare her for the reality of returning to a place at once so familiar and so different. She would just have to adjust.

But adjustment took time and staying in her room miserably trying and failing to fall asleep would do little to help anything. She might as well do something productive. She would reacquaint herself with her surroundings. She threw back the covers and climbed from bed to find her shoes and dressing gown.

Wrapped in her dressing gown and armed with a warming spell, Ada set out for the grounds. To wander the halls at night felt a little too much like something out of the gothic novels she’d enjoyed as a younger woman. The outdoors would do her a world of good. The brisk air, the silvery limn of moonlight, the advantage of not bumping into anyone in a corridor. It was an increasingly attractive solution to her sleeplessness problem.

Stepping out into the bright moonlight of a cloudless night left Ada feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her. She felt free because she was. Free to wander, free of expectations, free of the weight of being ‘Miss Cackle, new Deputy Headmistress who will inherit the school’.

It was exhilarating.

Ada took a deep breath of cool night air and began an aimless walk through the grounds. She looked at everything and nothing in particular, allowing herself to just enjoy the moonlight. The soft crunch of her footsteps along the gravel path and the soft sound of wind through the trees were welcome sounds, quiet and reassuring. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been wandering when she turned a corner and jumped at the sight of another person perched at the end of a bench.

“Oh, Miss Hardbroom! You startled me,” Ada said with a nervous laugh, hand placed firmly over her racing heart. “I didn’t expect anyone else to be out here.”

The younger woman’s gaze flicked down from the night sky to Ada’s face, her brow furrowing slightly as if in worry. “My apologies, Miss Cackle. I didn’t intend to frighten you.”

“I didn’t think you had. What are you doing out here at this time of night?”

Miss Hardbroom’s gaze had already returned to the night sky, but Ada could clearly see Hecate’s eyebrows raise in surprise at the question. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“True, you could.” Ada stood for a few seconds, waiting for a further response before deciding one was unlikely to be forthcoming. She took a seat at the opposite side of the bench before giving her own answer. “I couldn’t sleep. Were you having the same issue?”

“Perhaps.”

“Do you often have trouble sleeping?”

Miss Hardbroom shrugged delicately, eyes still trained on the stars above. “Define ‘often’.”

Ada chuckled. “Well, it would appear the answer to my question is yes.”

The pair lapsed into awkward silence, Ada fiddling with the tie on her dressing gown and Miss Hardbroom’s gaze fixed pointedly on the stars. Not wanting to prolong what she chose to interpret as discomfort, Ada rose from her seat. “I suppose I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your night. Good night, Miss Hardbroom.”

She had just turned back around the corner when she heard a soft “Good night, Miss Cackle” in return.

\----  
**II.**  
The night was clear and quiet, as most summer nights at Cackle’s seemed to be. Ada sat on a bench, listening as Hecate painstakingly adjusted her new telescope. On any other night, Ada would have smiled at the careful and expert way she handled each piece. But tonight she was distracted by the results of her annual performance review, her mind buzzing with questions she was unsure she wanted answers to.

It was uncomfortable, but perhaps there was no other option than to ask them. Taking a deep breath, Ada forced herself to speak. She tried to keep her voice light, hoping Hecate’s distraction would hide her nervousness. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Hecate said as she used the scope to focus on her chosen star system of the evening.

Ada shifted slightly in her seat, body turning toward Hecate. She settled her hands underneath her thighs to stop herself from wringing them. “And you promise to give me your honest opinion, even if you think it might hurt my feelings?”

“When have I ever failed to express my honest opinion to you?” Hecate asked as she straightened and turned away from the telescope, brow furrowed in confusion.

“Please promise me.”

Hecate left the telescope and came to settle beside Ada on the bench. Her wide worried eyes scanned Ada’s face for a moment, mouth opening and closing twice before she finally said, “I promise.”

They stared at each other for an uncomfortable moment before Ada had to look away. If she was going to get the words out, she knew she couldn’t look directly at Hecate. 

“Ada, you’re starting to worry me,” Hecate said with a nervous laugh.

“I’m going about this all wrong,” Ada said with a frustrated sigh.

“Just ask me.” Hecate laid a gentle hand on Ada’s shoulder, her fingers twitching slightly against the fabric of Ada’s fluffy cardigan.

Ada looked down at her lap, eyes narrowing in on a few minute wrinkles in the pink crepe. “Do you think I am suited to be headmistress?”

Hecate stared at her for a moment, her eyebrows rising nearly to her hairline in shock. “What’s brought this on?”

“That’s not an answer,” Ada said, voice small and shoulders hunching inward as if bracing for an attack.

Hecate dropped her hand from Ada’s shoulder, hands twisting together in her lap. “You’re right, it wasn’t. I’m not trying to put you off the question because I think you already know my opinion on the matter, but I would like to know why you’re asking me?”

“Because I value your opinion.”

Ada could feel Hecate’s eyes on her, assessing. After another moment, Hecate began to speak. “Fine. I do not think you'll make a good headmistress--”

“What?” Ada felt oddly numb, as though all the blood had drained from her limbs.

Hecate continued as if uninterrupted. “-I think you’ll make a great one.”

Silence stretched between them as Ada’s brain scrambled to comprehend what Hecate had said. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. “Really?”

Hecate smiled at her. “Of course.”

“You don’t think I’m too soft? That I lack the ‘authority necessary to lead’?”

Hecate stared at her incredulously. “Where is this coming from?”

“I’m being silly.”

“No,” Hecate said firmly. “Who told you those things?”

Ada wiped at her eyes with the end of a sleeve, quietly taking the black handkerchief Hecate pressed into her hand. “Thank you.”

“Whoever told you those things was wrong.” Hecate’s jaw set tightly and her posture was rigid. “This academy has been improved by your being here, even if you can’t see it.”

“Hecate--”

“No. I think you need to hear this, so please listen.”

Ada nodded, twisting Hecate’s handkerchief in her hands.

“If people have mistaken kindness for softness that is an indictment on their character, not yours. You and I may take very different approaches, but I can recognize that you are a force for good in this world, Ada Cackle.” Hecate cleared her throat as she came to a close, color rising high on her cheeks.

Ada looked up, eyes wide in surprise. “I’m flattered you think so highly of me.” 

“I wouldn’t say these things if I didn’t mean them.” Hecate smiled before patting Ada on the shoulder once more. She rose from her seat on the bench and made her way back over to her telescope. “Whoever told you those things clearly doesn’t know a thing about you and will answer to me when I figure out who they were.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Ada said with a watery laugh.

Hecate didn’t bother looking away from her eyepiece. “I will disavow them of whatever ill-conceived illusions they have of you.”

“That doesn’t tell me how you plan to accomplish that.”

“No, I suppose it doesn’t, does it?”

Ada couldn’t help but laugh at Hecate’s affected nonchalance. When she was able to settle, she could see the satisfied smirk on Hecate’s face despite it being mostly obscured by the large telescope. If the sight of that smirk made her stomach swoop slightly, well that was a thought for a less fraught day.

\----  
**III.**  
Ada patted her pocket nervously as she made her way toward Hecate’s favorite bench. She knew that Hecate would be there, waiting for the meteor shower predicted for that evening. As she rounded the corner and saw that she had been correct in her assumption she took a deep breath and forced herself forward. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Hecate looked at Ada with a small but happy smile and gestured at the empty seat beside her. “Of course not.”

Ada tried to return the smile as she approached, but judging by the way Hecate’s brow furrowed slightly in concern she had managed a grimace. She did her best to ignore it and settled herself in the spot Hecate had indicated. She made a production of straightening her cardigan before pulling a thick stack of letters from her pocket. “Were you going to tell me that you’d been receiving job offers from other academies?” 

Hecate’s eyes widened at the accusation in Ada’s tone. “I am not seeking a position elsewhere.”

“Other schools are trying to poach you,” Ada said as she flicked through the letters. She read them off before stacking them on the bench between them. “Miss Amulet’s Academy, the Salem School, Salamander’s, even Moonridge High School for Wizards.”

Hecate shifted uncomfortably as if trying to put space between herself and the envelopes. “Where did you get those?”

Ada paused for a moment before showing that the letters were addressed to ‘Miss Ada Cackle, Deputy Headmistress’ and were not Hecate’s personal correspondence. “They’ve been writing to express their congratulations on having such a prolific researcher on staff.”

Hecate nodded and looked away toward the skyline. “I suppose it’s flattering that anyone is taking notice of my book.”

“Hecate, have you not read the reviews? Your book is already being recommended as a university text.” Ada sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, forcing her glasses up. “It would make sense that you might be interested in moving on.”

Hecate shrugged stiffly. “But I am not interested and, even if I were, I cannot leave Cackle’s.”

“If they’re able to offer you the benefits and advantages some of these institutions have, I do not see why you wou-”

“Ada, I have no intention of leaving. I _cannot_ leave Cackle’s.” Hecate’s posture straightened further than Ada would have thought anatomically possible and her eyes were planted firmly on the sky above the treeline.

Ada paused, brow furrowing in confusion and apprehension. “What do you mean, you ‘ _cannot_ leave Cackle’s’?”

“Surely your mother has explained as part of the transition plan,” Hecate said, her voice taking on a nervous edge.

“My mother hasn’t explained anything. Please elaborate.”

Hecate’s hands curled tightly around the lip at the edge of the bench seat, knuckles turning white. “Has your mother told you about Joy and the horrible mistakes she made?”

A tense, ill-fitting silence stretched between them as Hecate continued to avoid Ada’s eyes and Ada tried to parse what was going on. Eventually Ada couldn’t tolerate the uncomfortable silence any longer.

“Hecate, you’re going to do yourself an injury,” she said as she gently prized Hecate’s hands from the edge of the bench. She clasped the younger woman’s hands between her own in an attempt to keep her from any potentially injurious behavior. She squeezed gently when she noted just how much the younger woman’s hands were trembling. “I have no idea what you’re talking about or what it has to do with the question at hand.”

The worried furrow of Hecate’s brow would have been concerning enough, but the fact that she removed her hands from Ada’s in order to wrap her fingers tightly around her forearms made Ada straighten her own posture in anticipation of whatever was to come next.

“Joy was a student here, several years before your return,” Hecate began, her voice soft and small. It was as if the words were coming from a great distance. But they poured out in a steady stream, as if once started Hecate was unable to stop. The words slowed as the final detail was recounted. “Joy made so many poor decisions in such a short time that it was decided it would be safer for her to be confined so that she could never pose a threat to another Ordinary person.”

Ada sat, equal parts transfixed and horrified as she tried to wrap her mind around what Hecate was telling her. It took her several moments to realize that Hecate had stopped speaking. “I see.”

Hecate’s face tipped down and her shoulders hunched into a protective stance before she spoke the quietest of her revelations. “I made those mistakes.”

Silence stretched painfully between them. Ada was unsure of what to say. What could she say? This was a completely unforeseeable circumstance, one for which it was impossible to prepare. She was caught in a dizzying swirl of half-formed responses, knowing full well that she was making the situation worse by not responding. If only she could get her mouth to catch up with her brain...

“I understand if you no longer wish to associate with me,” Hecate said, springing up from her seat on the bench to stand several paces away. The moonlight illuminated her pale face enough to show two shiny tear trails. Hecate did nothing to wipe them away, her arms remaining tightly wrapped around herself.

Ada stared at her, mouth gaping. “What?”

“I-I am not a suitable friend, I never have been. But I allowed myself to-- I just--”

“Hecate--”

“I have abused your trust and I--”

“Stop.” Ada stood and walked slowly to stand in front of Hecate. She looked up into the younger woman’s face, summoning a clean handkerchief which she extended toward her anxious friend. “Here.”

Hecate took the proffered handkerchief almost as if by reflex. She stared at Ada with wide, wet eyes. “Ada?”

Ada stared into her friend’s face, her mind grappling with what to say. She had so many questions, so many thoughts jumbled together in a writhing mass-- but none of those things would be helpful. So instead, she slowly closed the gap between them, bringing her hands to rest gently on Hecate’s shoulders before sharing the loudest of her thoughts with her struggling friend. “I am so sorry about your friend, Hecate. And I am so sorry that you’ve had to endure this all alone until now. But I am not sorry that I am your friend and you won’t scare me off quite so easily.”

Hecate’s face crumbled, her shoulders hunching inward as she brought her hands up to hide her face. Her entire body trembled as she began to cry in earnest.

“Oh, Hecate,” Ada sighed as she hugged the younger woman to her. It wasn’t the most comfortable of hugs, with Hecate’s arms loosely pinned between their chests but Ada couldn’t bear to see her friend so distraught. She worried for a moment that this hug was meant to be more comforting to herself than to Hecate, more about providing herself the comfort of knowing that Hecate was here than about the revelation that her best friend was trapped both emotionally and physically.

After a few moments, Ada began to gently pull away. She was shocked when Hecate slid her arms down and around Ada’s middle while burying her face into the soft collar of Ada’s cardigan. She wrapped her own arms back around the younger woman and murmured soft reassurances.

She wasn’t sure how long they stood there, wrapped tightly around one another as Hecate slowly came back to herself. But like all things, Ada knew that their embrace would eventually come to an end. When Hecate began to gently pull away, Ada allowed her to retreat. “I hope you know that you’re rather stuck with me, Hecate Hardbroom. Regardless of anything you’ve told me.”

Hecate turned away slightly as she tried to wipe away the residue of her crying jag with Ada’s borrowed handkerchief. She drew a few deep, slow breaths, but kept her face turned away as if afraid of what she would see if she looked directly at Ada. “Does that bother you? Being stuck with me?”

Ada didn’t pause before answering, her answer requiring absolutely no thought on her part. “No. I’d rather be stuck with you than anyone else.”

“Ada--” Hecate squeaked, stopping suddenly as Ada placed a hand on Hecate’s shoulder.

“But that is something we can discuss another time. I believe I ruined your plans for the evening, for which I am sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not. But I’ll not argue the point.” Ada offered a small, sad smile.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Hecate said, finally looking back at Ada through her eyelashes.

“You are entitled to your privacy, Hecate. Don’t apologize.”

“I just--”

“You don’t owe me any explanation. I don’t know about you, but I think I’m headed to bed. I’ll see you in the morning?”

Hecate nodded. “You will.”

“Good.”

Hecate looked at her for several long seconds before raising a hand and transferring away. Ada stayed where she stood, forcing a deep breath before finally turning to begin the long walk back to her chambers.

\----  
**IV.**  
“I wondered where you’d gotten to,” Ada said softly as she took a seat beside Hecate. The faint hum of music and raucous laughter drifted over from the courtyard where the end-of-term celebrations were still ongoing.

“I just needed a moment,” Hecate said, smiling over at Ada’s concerned face. “I was planning on going back.”

“Things have become a little more...boisterous than I anticipated.”

Hecate hummed in amusement. “You allowed Dimity free reign to plan. And while I am willing to admit that she did a good job--”

“Can I get that in writing for her?” Ada teased.

Hecate gently bumped her shoulder against Ada’s in a gesture of reproach, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she tried to suppress a smile. “I think you already know the answer to that.”

Ada laughed happily as she leaned into Hecate’s side. “She’d never believe it wasn’t a forgery anyway.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.”

“I thought so.” Ada grinned. “You should probably tell her that she’s done a good job though.”

“I will,” Hecate said as she moved closer to place her arm around Ada’s shoulder. “But for now I think I’d rather sit here with you if you’re agreeable.”

Ada settled her head comfortably in the space where Hecate’s shoulder and neck met. She sighed happily. “I think I can manage that.”

Hecate placed a gentle kiss right against Ada’s hair. “I also have some thoughts about what we can do after the party breaks up.”

Ada could feel her heartbeat speed up at the specific off-hand tone with which Hecate threw out that statement. “Thoughts?”

She rubbed her hand gently against Ada’s arm. “Mhmm. Several.”

Ada swallowed thickly. “Care to share any of them?”

“Perhaps later.”

“You’re terrible, you know that?”

“It may have been brought to my attention on several previous occasions, yes,” Hecate said with mock-seriousness.

Ada laughed as she snuggled a fraction closer, her eyes slipping shut as she allowed herself to simply enjoy the gentle rise and fall of Hecate’s breathing. She was shocked out of her contented bubble when Hecate startled and jostled her from her cozy spot.

“Was there something you needed, Miss Drill?” Hecate asked, one hand clasped tightly around the watch pendant on her necklace.

“Oh! Ah, yeah,” Dimity said, eyes locked on the arm that Hecate still had placed around Ada’s shoulder. “Sorry for interrupting...whatever this is. It’s just Miss Bat has climbed on top of the refreshment table and we cannot get her down?”

Ada felt Hecate’s frustrated sigh building and couldn’t help but laugh. “We’ll be right there.”

Dimity nodded and retreated silently in the direction of the party.

“Well,” Ada said as she patted Hecate’s knee gently. “Once more back into the fray.”

Hecate snorted in response. “I think you can see why I wanted a break.”

Nodding sagely, Ada rose from her seat. She “I can. But I’m more interested in those ideas you mentioned earlier.”

“You’ll just have to wonder until the party’s over, I’m afraid.”

“Well, the sooner we go back there, the sooner the party is over.”

“I think you’re trying to seduce me,” Hecate said with a smirk.

“I think you’ll find it’s rather the other way round,” Ada said, eyes twinkling merrily.

“Perhaps.” The corners of Hecate’s eyes crinkled slightly as she grinned. “But that will just have to wait. We have to go make sure there aren’t any injuries. We don’t want a repeat of the last time. I thought Miss Marsh’s nose would never stop bleeding.”

Ada clapped her hands together once, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand rather than on what was to come when the party was over and they found themselves well and truly alone. “What are we waiting for then?”

Hecate merely quirked an eyebrow. “What indeed?”

\----  
**V.**  
A single wispy cloud skittered across the sky, briefly passing over the moon and casting a slight shadow over the bench on which Ada sat. Just as quickly the shadow drifted away and the heavy blanket of summer stars winked brightly above her. Feeling for the small box in the pocket of her cardigan, she took a fortifying breath. Today was the day. No more putting it off. Today was the day she officially proposed to Hecate.

But did Hecate want that? She knew intellectually that Hecate had already made a commitment to her. She knew in her heart that Hecate loved her, had told her so many times and in many ways big and small. But this felt different. What if Hecate didn’t want to be so officially tied to her?

Her thoughts looped around and around as if on a carousel. The simile made her groan at her own ridiculousness. But she didn’t have time to dwell on that thought as she felt the gentle wave of Hecate’s magic appearing in the vicinity.

“Your note was very vague,” Hecate said as she took a seat beside Ada, pressing tightly into Ada’s side. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, fine,” Ada said with a nervous smile. She placed a conciliatory hand on Hecate’s knee, squeezing gently. She glanced briefly over at Hecate only to turn away from the younger woman’s scrutiny. She tried her best to ignore the warm flush she could feel building as a result.

“The fact that you cannot look me in the eye isn’t exactly inspiring confidence, Ada.” A little undercurrent of worry cut through the light tone Hecate was trying to affect.

“It’s not that I can’t look you in the eye,” Ada grumbled.

“Mmm.”

“It’s not!” Ada turned and looked straight into her face. “It’s that I’m nervous and when you look at me like that, I just, well...”

“You just, well, what?”

Ada’s face blushed a brilliant pink. “I get distracted.”

The gentle hum of Hecate’s amusement made Ada’s flush deepen. “You find me distracting?”

“Very often, yes. But that’s my cross to bear,” Ada said with a nervous laugh.

Hecate shifted slightly, her hands wrapping gently against the hand resting against her knee. The worry in her gaze was obvious, her smile gentle. “Should I be worried about whatever it is you needed to tell me?”

Ada’s shoulders slumped slightly. “I’m bungling this.”

“What are you bungling?”

With her free hand, Ada reached into her pocket and extracted a small jewelry box. Her thumb rubbed absently against the velvety finish. “Do you remember when I told you that I would rather be stuck with you than anyone else?”

Hecate’s eyes widened almost comically, and had she been less nervous Ada would have chuckled at the younger woman’s shocked expression. The tightening of Hecate’s grip on Ada’s hand verged on painful. “I do remember, yes.”

She struggled for a moment to open the box with only one hand, but finally managed it. The ring glinted in the moonlight. “Would you want to be stuck with me?”

“Yes.” It was barely spoken, more an exhalation than a conscious vocalization.

“I have wanted to ask you for such a long time,” Ada admitted quietly. “I love you, Hecate, and after all this time I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Or ever, for that matter.”

Ada startled when Hecate threw her arms around her and squeezed tightly, the sudden movement unexpected but never unwanted. She wrapped her own arms around the other woman and settled her cheek against Hecate’s. They stayed that way for several moments, before Hecate pulled away slightly to place a gentle, lingering kiss on Ada’s cheek.

“I love you, too, Ada,” she said, voice thick with emotion.

Ada stared at Hecate’s face, bottom lip momentarily caught between her teeth. “I’m sorry this wasn’t more romantic.”

Hecate smiled softly. “I think this was perfectly suitable.”

“But suitable isn’t what I was going for!” Ada said with mild dismay. “You deserve more than ‘suitable’.”

Hecate laughed and rested a hand against Ada’s cheek. “I wouldn’t change a moment. Truly.”

Ada nuzzled gently against Hecate’s palm, eyes slipping closed at the familiar gesture of affection. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Hecate shrugged slightly as she drew her hand away, fingers trailing lightly across Ada’s cheek. “You didn’t have to do anything. You were just you.”

“Hecate,” Ada said, her voice and her gaze warm. “Honestly.”

“I’m simply stating a fact.”

Ada took Hecate’s hand in hers, slipping the ring from its box and gently slid it onto Hecate’s finger. “I love you.”

Hecate stared at the ring, her cheeks flushing happily. “You already said that.”

“It bears repeating.”

Several moments of contemplative silence passed between them. Ada watched Hecate stare happily into the middle distance, clearly lost in untroubled thought. It made her heart swell to see Hecate look so happy. She wasn’t aware that she’d become lost in her own contented thoughts until she felt Hecate shift against her.

Hecate cleared her throat delicately. “So, I believe this merits a celebration.”

Ada raised an eyebrow. “Did you have something in mind?”

Leaning forward, Hecate brought their lips together in a gentle kiss. It lasted barely a moment before she pulled away, placing just the slightest of spaces between them. “Indeed, I did.”

Ada felt her breath catch in her chest for a moment, the promise of Hecate’s tone spiking her heart rate in anticipation. She swallowed. “By all means, lead the way.”

Ada shivered as she felt Hecate’s answering smile and noted the way she lifted her hand to transfer them away. “Very well.”

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoyed myself while writing this, so I hope you enjoy reading it. :)


End file.
